In order to soften the shadow edges of high-powered lamps used on film and television sets, it is known to reflect light from the lamps off a reflector onto the subject being lit. The reflecting surface of the reflector is not smooth and so light reaches the subject from several pans of the reflecting surface, thereby giving a soft edge shadow; a crinkled or concave stippled sheet of reflecting material has traditionally been used as the reflecting surface. Such an arrangement has a low efficiency and provides an unsatisfactory penumbra region in the shadow; also a significant proportion of the light emitted from the lighting apparatus is wasted and/or is degraded to heat which must be ventilated from the apparatus.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a lighting apparatus that is effective in producing diffused light without sharp shadows (so-called "soft light").